LONDON (Reuters) ? Music producer and TV personality Simon Cowell has poached singer Alesha Dixon from hit BBC show "Strictly Come Dancing" to judge alongside him on "Britain's Got Talent," which airs on the rival ITV channel.
Dixon's switch is the latest salvo in a fierce ratings battle pitting Cowell's ITV shows "The X Factor" and Britain's Got Talent against the publicly owned BBC which airs Strictly Come Dancing.
The competition is likely to intensify in 2012 with the launch on BBC of "The Voice UK," a singing talent show due to start in the spring featuring Tom Jones and will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas among its coaches.
"I love Alesha," Cowell said of Dixon, who rose to prominence by winning Strictly Come Dancing as a contestant before becoming a judge.
"She is feisty, opinionated and knows what it's like to be both a competitor and judge on a hugely popular TV show."
Cowell will hope the judging lineup of himself, Dixon, Amanda Holden and comedian David Walliams will be enough to maintain big audiences for Britain's Got Talent, and with them advertising revenue for ITV.
The 52-year-old, also a major television personality in the United States where he recently launched a version of The X Factor, suffered the ignominy last year of seeing his flagship X Factor show regularly beaten by Strictly in viewing figures.
British media attributed the fall in audiences to Cowell's absence to launch The X Factor USA and the quality of the acts.
Cowell said he had increased the winner's prize money for the sixth series of Britain's Got Talent to 500,000 pounds ($780,000) and said he wanted the show to unearth a global star during Britain's Olympic year.
"I miss Britain and I miss the British public and I miss judging them," he said in a statement. "I want to find the next generation of talent in 2012. Different and new acts, younger and better talent."
The biggest star to emerge from Britain's Got Talent is Scottish singer Susan Boyle, who became a worldwide celebrity in 2009 and has gone on to top international charts with her album releases.
Boyle did not win the 2009 series, however, and most of the acts who did have failed to establish lasting mainstream success.
(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)
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